Crackdown Deja Vu

Here we are again, same hullabaloo different year. Anyone remember the big hullabaloo about drinking in the park we had in Dolores Park last year in August?

I do. It is what prompted me to get involve and co-found Dolores Park Works (DPW).

Well, here we go again.SafeCleanGreen, consists of some very well organized neighbors. They are upset at about the stabbing and the “rowdy behavior,” after curfew noise, non-permitted amplified sound, public urination and litter. They decided to do something about it.

According to Captain Corrales, a meeting was initiated by Gideon Kramer, President of SafeCleanGreen with SFPD and RPD. The outcomes from which included the need for signage and an agreement to increase police presence and law enforcement.

I checked in with Gideon, a co-founder and former steering committee member of DPW who left the committee in February because of philosophical differences. He explained his position via email quite thoroughly, but would only like to be quoted as saying, “SafeCleanGreen Mission Dolores advocates for respect for all Rec&Park codes, for reasonable and judicious enforcement of those codes, and for a robust program of public education to encourage park patrons to use the park responsibly as it was intended.”

Personally, I can’t blame neighbors for not wanting people defecating at their doorstep, waking them up at 1 AM with a flash mob, stepping over piles of trash, or seeing historical monuments defaced, but I think a key point missing here is that most of that behavior is being conducted by a small group of people. Why punish everyone?

Strict law enforcement is not the right way to go. This is San Francisco! This is Dolores Park we’re talking about! It is an unparallel place on this earth. It is a leading character in San Franciscans’ lives. The problem is that people have different POV on what role it plays. Some say it’s a just a neighborhood park, others think of it is San Francisco’s town hall. What I think we need is balance, respect for individual viewpoints, and focusing on what we can agree on such as unabashed love for Dolores, and a desire to see it safe, respected, and beautiful, however you define or experience that beauty. That is what Dolores Park Works has been advocating for and working toward.

I’m not really a fan of closed-door meetings that push a particular agenda, especially one that I’m not fond of. So, we’ve worked hard over the last couple of weeks to organize a community meeting where all sides can be present and their voices heard. So please come out on Wednesday, September 1st, from 6:00-8:00 PM at Mission High School cafeteria to hear everything from the horse’s mouth and advocate for your position on the subject. Please help us get the word out.

Keep San Francisco's parks safe by using them, is an article written by the current head of the Recreation and Parks department. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/26/ED5R1F3H4E.DTL The article is written with surprising sense, for example noting that Crocker Amazon has become much safer because of its frequent use now that the soccer fields are there. He notes the same potential for McLaren Park. And, I point this out Dolores Park has become become safer as it has become more popular. Please officials, do not close off the popularity of Dolores Park, lets adjust because of the stabbing tragedy but do not stop what makes this park an attraction.

Thanks Mike. I appreciate it. If there are neighbors that feel the same way, we'd like to hear from them. We need to hear from them. You can start by attending the community meeting on Sept 1 at Mission High Cafeteria from 6:00-8:00 or feel free to reach out to me directly.

I imagine it sometimes must feel like you have adversaries on both sides of this fence, and that you may not even like some of the people whose 'rights' you are defending, but I hope you know that many people appreciate your efforts, including park neighbors that feel the same way that you do on most of these issues but have yet to engage due to all the hoo-hah surrounding this discussion.

I'd like to see a rule changed so that responsible drinking is legally permitted in Dolores Park. They do it in Europe. San Francisco's future is as an European like city, rather than a mini Manhattan.

I linked to it because it showed the issues are basically the same as last year. The stabbing is just one piece. From what I've heard from various sources involved, SCG is using the stabbing to push their own, bigger agenda - greater enforcement of laws: no smoking, drinking, etc.

I hope you'll come out on Sept 1 and help us get your readers to attend as well. In order to have all voices heard and share that we do not support zero tolerance, we need a diverse group of park patrons present at the community meeting, not just the NIMBYs.

The "well here we go again" links to a blog post that I wrote a year ago. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but that doesn't (directly, at least) reflects SCG's current reaction to the stabbings